The invention relates to an apparatus for the removal of the leading margin of a sheet which is joined thereto only by webs along a parting line, consisting of upper and lower separating tools disposed one on either side of the parting line and movable against one another.
Such an apparatus is connected, for example, to the output of a punch in which the sheet is divided by punching into individual parts which are joined together only loosely by thin webs. This sheet is conveyed by a transport means from the punch to a stacking point, its leading edge being held by grippers of the transport means. Before it is laid down, its leading margin is removed. In a known apparatus of the above-mentioned kind, this removal is performed by upper and lower separating tools in that the upper separating tool acts downwardly on the sheet on the sheet side of the parting line, while the lower separating tool acts from below on the leading margin side. It has been found that the sheet is severely vibrated in this type of separation. If the sheet consists of individual areas joined together only by webs, this vibration can be severe enough to break the webs and thus disrupt the assembly of the individual areas, so that trouble-free stacking is no longer possible (German Pat. No. 1,068,988).